Jessica Ainscough had a rare form of cancer (Image: Instagram/ @jessainscough)
Apple Cider Vinegar, the drama series now streaming on Netflix, is based on the real-life scandal of Australian fraudster Belle Gibson. She falsely claimed to have brain cancer and developed a wellness app purportedly designed to aid those battling terminal illnesses.
Several characters in the series draw inspiration from actual individuals, including Jessica Ainscough. The Australian teen magazine editor’s heartbreaking story significantly influenced the show’s narrative.
Diagnosed with a rare form of cancer at 22, she rejected conventional medical treatment.
Under the moniker ‘The Wellness Warrior’, sheused her blog to chronicle her journey through alternative cancer treatments. Although the prescribed treatment could have potentially extended her life by a decade, she tragically died at 30, less than ten years after opting for alternative therapies.
At the time of her diagnosis, she was serving as an online editor for teen magazine Dolly, having graduated university with a journalism degree. In a conversation with The Booktopia Book Guru, she revealed how her cancer diagnosis had redirected her career trajectory.
Jessica Ainscough used alternative treatments (Image: Instagram/ @jessainscough)
She shared: “Before cancer, I was working at Dolly magazine. It was an amazing life, but something even better was waiting for me. So, the universe gave me a big kick up the bum to force me onto a different path – the path I am supposed to be on.”
She later penned a book titled Make Peace with Your Plate, which she described as part memoir, part “exploration into the possibility of ditching diets and mending our torturous relationships with food”.
Jessica was diagnosed with the rare and challenging epithelioid sarcoma in April 2008 after a biopsy on lumps from her left arm and hand. Initially facing the grim prospect of amputation at the shoulder, she consented.
However, an eleventh-hour alternative was presented by her doctors: an “isolated limb perfusion”. Post-chemotherapy scans in June 2008 indicated remission, but the cancer resurfaced by November the next year.
Don’t miss… [EXPLAINER] [EXPLAINER]
Milla Blake in Apple Cider Vinegar (Image: NETFLIX)
Rejecting amputation, Jessica pursued alternative treatments like Gerson Therapy, which proved futile.
As her condition deteriorated, she reverted to conventional medicine in December 2014. Jessica and her fiancé, Tallon Pamenter, who got engaged in July 2014, had set their sights on a September 2015 wedding.
Following her passing, Pamenter spoke to the Daily Mail, reflecting on her courageous decision to embrace aggressive treatment just six weeks before her death as “a risky and tough decision but Jess bravely embraced this last chance option”.
He added: “Finally the walls were broken down between conventional and unconventional medicine – I don’t know why as a society we must choose one or the other.
“This was something Jess was looking forward with sharing (with her followers). It was an exciting evolution from her earlier days of feeling that she had to be part of one extreme world or the other.”
Jessica Ainscough was engaged (Image: Instagram/ @jessainscough)
He continued, revealing the poignant moment: “the words ‘I love you’ would leave my lips only to fall softly upon Jess’s ears for the last time.”
“I said goodbye to the love of my life that day and my heart has been in a million pieces since.”
The character Milla Blake, portrayed by Alycia Debnam-Carey in Apple Cider Vinegar, is rumoured to have been inspired by Jessica’s own experiences.
Apple Cider Vinegar is on